


In This Life, I am in Good Company (Let's Do This)

by ObliqueOptimism



Series: Baby (You've Got What It Takes) [9]
Category: The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - No Powers, Established Relationship, Gen, Implied/Referenced Drug Use, Implied/Referenced Homelessness, Kid Fic, Not Beta Read, Parent Klaus Hargreeves, Sober Klaus Hargreeves, Unreliable Narrator
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-16
Updated: 2020-07-16
Packaged: 2021-03-04 23:48:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,430
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25294972
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ObliqueOptimism/pseuds/ObliqueOptimism
Summary: Family memories are cherished and loved; some of the best ones are about family pets, standing up for loved ones, and slugs.
Relationships: Dave/Klaus Hargreeves
Series: Baby (You've Got What It Takes) [9]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1576855
Comments: 20
Kudos: 112





	In This Life, I am in Good Company (Let's Do This)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Punknatch](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Punknatch/gifts).



> i've mentioned this previously in the series, but now you get to see it. aren't y'all lucky?

Dave had expected to arrive home and find Klaus cooking and Jackson coloring with his shows playing quietly in the background. It was what he usually came home to, the norm for him now. Sometimes Klaus would make them eat on the roof of the building or sit on the floor, Klaus having difficulty with always sticking to the same thing. He was always so spontaneous, one of the many reasons Dave loved him. Klaus usually would tell Dave something about his life whenever they ended up in bed together at the end of those nights.

Sometimes about how he had to do something different from usual because of how strict he was raised and his skin was crawling with how he had fallen into a set rhythm, memories clawing at him about how his father forced them--

Sometimes about how he used to have such freedom, living on the streets. A type of freedom, anyway. He had been chained to his addiction yes, but he could go and do anything he wanted. Go wherever his feet took him, and when he got bored or hurt too much, he’d leave that place and go off again. Somewhere new, never the same and if it was the same, it didn’t seem that way with the drugs, with the drugs it was--

Instead Dave came home to his sun and stars laughing and yelling and running around the place. 

The apartment _was a mess_. The curtains were torn and half fallen, he saw pillow stuffing, objects knocked over, some broken glass-- Jackson was standing on the table clapping and cheering. Klaus stood up behind the sofa and smiled at Dave, “You’re home!”

Dave raised his eyebrows, “I am.” Gesturing around the apartment he asked, “What’s happened?”

“Britney!” Jackson yelled happily. He raised his hands above his head. “Britney happened!”

“And who? Is Britney?” Dave asked slowly.

Before he could get an answer from them, a raccoon came out from under the sofa.

Ah.

_This had to be Britney._

“Britney is our new pet!” Jackson cheered. “I love him!”

Dave took a second to watch the raccoon climb into a cabinet and indeed, Britney was a boy. He then glanced at his husband who looked happy and excited, almost more than their son did. Dave immediately knew who spearheaded this pet adoption and it wasn’t a little six year old boy. 

He could see it now, Klaus taking out the trash, putting it into the dumpster behind the apartment and found the little raccoon in there. Hopefully, Klaus thought Britney was injured and thought he needed help but Dave figured his husband just had one thought going through his head: _Raccoon! Raccoon! Raccoon!_

Dave sighed, hating that he was going to have to play bad guy.

He felt less bad about it after Britney knocked off a picture of Jackson and Bradley at the park and broke the glass as he scurried to what he hoped was another safe place as the sofa was not one.

“Britney isn’t our new pet, starshine.”

Jackson gasped, “But daddy said he was! I woke up from my nap and there was Britney! And I love him!”

“I love him too!” Klaus declared. 

“He’s a wild animal, not a pet,” Dave tried to keep his voice soothing and calm. Trying to get them to see reason. 

“C’mon, he’s just a raccoon,” Klaus said, flinching at the book that got knocked over.

“A wild animal,” Dave repeated.

Klaus narrowed his eyes, “Street cat.”

“Street cat!” Jackson agreed.

“A wild animal.”

Britney hissed in agreement.

“Sweet hissing stripy boy,” Klaus cooed at Britney who continued to hiss at him.

“A wild animal.” Dave sighed, “Klaus, sunshine. _You know_ Britney isn’t a pet. He deserves the freedom to come and go as he pleases, not kept here in the apartment.”

Klaus frowned, “But Britney isn’t on the ‘no pets’ list of the building. We can keep him! And love him!”

“I love him!” Jackson was frowning, looking worried.

Dave thought that maybe it would be easier to get Jackson to see reason. “ _Jacky,_ Britney belongs outside. His home is not like ours. He won’t like it here. He’s not like us. He won’t be happy here, not like we are. This isn't his home. He’s got a family that we’re keeping him from.”

Jackson gasped, “Britney’s got a family?”

“He does. And he misses them. You’d miss us if you stayed away at uncle Ben’s too long, wouldn’t you?” Dave was trying to ignore Klaus who was wanting to bring conversation back in his direction but that last statement seemed to work.

Jackson turned to his daddy, “We gotta get Britney to his family!”

Klaus sighed, knowing he’d lost the battle. Dave had talked some sense into their son, _thank god._ “Fine. You’re right. I’ll get him.”

With an alarming sense of ease, Klaus walked up to Britney who finally got cornered in the room and Klaus reached down without hesitation and grabbed Britney as if it was normal. And it could have been for him at one point. When Klaus’s home was shared with raccoons and other animals. 

He watched as Klaus cooed at Britney a little more, letting Jackson see him one more time, before talking Britney outside. Dave had his arms wrapped around Jackson as he cried some, sad to see his friend go.

Klaus returned quickly and gave a shy smile, “Britney will be around to visit sometimes, in the alley!” 

Chances were Jackson would want to visit Britney some, wanting to go to the dumpsters and any raccoon would be dubbed as Britney. At least this way he little boy wouldn’t think he or Britney had been abandoned by the other.

They ended up ordering pizza, making sure there were green peppers on it for Jackson, and started to clean up the mess Britney had made.

After eating, Dave made sure Jackson was busy in front of the television, entranced with his current comfort movie and hugging Sparkles before he went to his husband. 

“You okay?” Dave reached out and grabbed Klaus’s hand, kissing the knuckles. 

Klaus nodded, “Yeah. Sorry.” He gestured to the broken glass in the trash, “Sorry.”

“I know, _I hope_ , Jackson was on the table the whole time, but are you injured?” Dave thought that Klaus would have gotten any cuts cleaned up if he got them from broken glass, but if he got scratched by Britney he maybe wouldn’t clean the scratch unless it bleed a lot.

Klaus looked down and rubbed at his arm.

Dave reached over and pushed up Klaus’s sleeve to find a number of small, red scratches. Dave pulled Klaus into the bathroom to clean them. The last thing he wanted was for Klaus to get an infection from _the wild animal._ “I’m sorry we couldn’t keep Britney.”

“You were right,” Klaus sighed. “He’s not a pet. I’ve befriended a few raccoons during my time though.”

“I’m sure,” Dave nodded. “I fear Britney didn’t want to be your friend.”

“I gave him some garlic bread,” Klaus stated.

“Ah,” Dave said. “Where did you get garlic bread?”

“My pocket.”

Dave pursed his lips in amusement and nodded again, “Of course, how silly of me to ask.” He leaned in and kissed Klaus when he finished cleaning the scratches. “I do love you, you know that?”

Klaus laughed, “I’d hope so. You put a ring on it.”

Dave opened his mouth to respond when the door opened and Jackson blinked at them, “Why are you in the bathroom? Is that bandaids?! _Is daddy okay?!_ Daddy! I have to pee but that can wait if you need bandaids!”

Klaus smiled, “I’m fine baby. We’ll leave so you can use the bathroom. Did you pause your movie?”

“Uh-huh. I thought I could wait until the bestest song was over but then I thought no I couldn’t so I paused it but you both were gone and I thought I’d go looking after I went pee so you didn’t miss the song either, it's the bestest song! But I found you!” Jackson smiled, “I found you!”

“You did!” Klaus agreed. “We’ll leave you to it, okay? Be sure to wash your hands.”

The two of them left the room and closed the door. The television was paused, Jackson’s favorite song ready to start. Dave thought about how often Jackson sang it, always a sign that their son was happy. 

Dave wrapped an arm around Klaus as they sat down, “Why’d you name him Britney?”

Klaus shrugged, “Britney Spears is my idol.”

**Author's Note:**

> obliqueoptimism @ tumblr


End file.
